How much does an infrared sauna cost to run? The honest 2026 numbers

Short answer: between about 16p and 34p per half-hour session at today's electricity prices, depending on the size of the cabin. A daily habit costs less per month than two takeaway coffees.

Long answer below — with the working shown, because most of the running-cost articles you'll find are quietly using electricity prices from 2023.

Start with the only number that matters

The Ofgem energy price cap for July–September 2026 puts the average unit rate at 26.11p per kWh (Ofgem). Your exact tariff may be a little above or below, but that's the honest baseline — not the 34p-ish figures from 2023 that many sauna retailers are still quoting, which overstate the cost of every session by around a third.

The maths for any infrared sauna is simple:

power in kW × 0.2611 = cost per hour at full draw

What that means for each of our cabins

We'll use our own Kajo range because we know the exact wattages — but the method works for any infrared cabin; just swap in the wattage from the spec sheet.

	Power	Worst case, per hour	Typical 30-minute session
Kajo 1 (1 person)	1200 W	~31p	~16p
Kajo 2 (2 person)	1900 W	~50p	~25p
Kajo 3 (3 person)	2600 W	~68p	~34p

Two honesty notes on that table, because this is where most articles fudge it:

"Worst case" means the panels running flat out for the full hour — which they don't. Once the cabin reaches temperature, the thermostat cycles the panels on and off to hold it. Real consumption over a session sits below the nameplate figure. We'd rather quote you the ceiling and have your first electricity bill be a pleasant surprise than the other way round.

Warm-up is included. An infrared cabin is ready in about 10–15 minutes (it heats you, not a room full of air), and that warm-up is inside the session times above. A traditional sauna needs 30–45 minutes of a 6–9 kW heater before you even step in — which is why its sessions land in the £1.50–£2.50+ territory, not pennies.

What a habit actually costs per month

• Three sessions a week in a Kajo 2: about £3.25 a month.
• Every single day in a Kajo 1: about £4.80 a month.
• Family use, five sessions a week in a Kajo 3: about £7.40 a month.

For scale: things that cost more than a sauna session

At the same 26.11p unit rate: one tumble-dryer cycle runs roughly 60p–£1.20 (2–4.5 kWh depending on the machine), and heating a bathful of water by immersion is around £1 (roughly 3.5–4 kWh). Your evening in the sauna is one of the cheapest lines on the bill — a kettle boiled five times costs about the same as a Kajo 1 session.

"Do infrared saunas use a lot of electricity?" — the plug tells the story

Here's a rule of thumb that cuts through spec sheets: if it runs off a standard 13-amp plug, it physically can't be an energy monster. A 13A UK socket tops out around 3 kW — the whole Kajo range plugs into the same socket as your kettle, no electrician, no dedicated circuit. Traditional sauna stoves that need hardwiring on a 32A circuit are the ones that draw serious power. (That plug is also why infrared cabins can go in a spare room or garden office with zero electrical work — more on that in our UK sauna buying guide.)

The caveats, so you can check our working

Your tariff may differ from the cap average — multiply your actual unit rate by the kW figure above. Off-peak rates (EV tariffs and the like) can cut these numbers by half or more if you sauna in the evening window. And the price cap resets every three months: these figures are correct for July–September 2026, and we'll update this page when the October cap lands.

Wondering what all those cheap sessions actually do for you? We've sorted the health claims into proven, promising and marketing in our honest guide to infrared sauna benefits. Thinking about which size fits your space and budget? Message us on WhatsApp — honest advice, no pressure. Or start with the Kajo range, from £1,395 with 0% finance over 12 months.